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Wednesday, 9 August 2017

Moving and Chucking Dramaturgy: Movin' Melvin @ Edfringe 2017

Movin’ Melvin Brown – Chuck Berry
Lives!

A Reelin’ and
Rockin’ Musical Revolution

Legendary song and dance man
Movin’ Melvin Brown is back at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe in his ongoing
quest to champion the best black American music.

Now 72, he grew up in an era
of segregation when the records of Chuck Berry helped bring down racial
barriers. A vibrant performer, his show is about enjoying fabulous music and
also recognising Chuck Berry as the true king of rock ’n’ roll.

The inspiration for the show was to celebrate Chuck Berry and all that he
did for music. He was the king of rock ‘n’ roll. You hear that said of this
person or that person – but when you go to each of them and ask who they think
is the king of rock ‘n’ roll, they all agree it was Chuck Berry.

I want to get people into Chuck Berry and get them to understand what he gave
to rock ‘n’ roll, let them get the real feel of it.

He started so much and achieved so much. I really

wanted to pay tribute
to him, to remind people who remember him of that great music and to introduce
it to the new generations that may not have heard it before.

This was the music that I grew up with and it meant so much. Music like
this didn’t just change our lives it made our lives.

Is performance still a good space
for the public discussion of ideas?

It is, because it’s expressive. With this show it works really well
because I give people the chance not just to hear the music but to understand
where it comes from as well. It’s important to understand the effect that this
music had.

When rock ‘n’ roll came along all the kids, no matter what their colour,
jumped on the bandwagon. And this was a time when black and white kids didn’t
share the same bandwagon. When they heard that music they just had to go and
dance.

How did you become interested in
making performance?

I came from a family where we danced all the time. When music came on the
radio we just got up and danced. On my first day at school the teacher asked if
anyone could dance – and I thought that was strange because everyone I knew
danced. I put my hand up and she said “come on then Melvin, give us a little
dance”, so I did and everybody clapped.

That was it. I didn’t have any problems after that in knowing what I
wanted to do with my life. I feel very fortunate because not everybody gets
that sense of knowing what they want to do with their life at such an early
age.

Is there any particular approach
to the making of the show?

My approach
is that, first of all, I’ve got to have fun with a show. If I don’t have fun
with it then I don’t want to put it in front of other people. So I come up with
stories, with comedy bits, and lots of things about Chuck Berry. And so I think
that if I’m having fun with this and the audience are having fun with it then
we are all going to end up in the same place.

Does the show fit with your usual
productions?

It does in the sense that I’ve got a story about the person the show is
about. But this show is quite unusual because of Chuck Berry’s rock ‘n’ roll
music. And to tell you how thrilling it is – when we were doing the tech
rehearsal all the young people working for the venue started to rock ‘n’ roll,
and they don’t even know this music. And when you look back at the old film
from the 50s it was just like then – the music started and the people just
started dancing.

What do you hope that the audience
will experience?

Fun is what I want them to experience. I think it’s going to be a treat
for them. For the older people it’s a chance to hear that great music again
that they loved all those years ago. For the young people it’s a chance to hear
something different, the roots of where so much of the music they hear today
came from.

What strategies did you consider
towards shaping this audience experience?

As I say, a lot of it is
about fun and having a great time, but it goes deeper than that. I perform the
songs but I also tell stories about Chuck Berry and his life. It’s nice when
you hear music and enjoy it, but it’s even better if you understand something
about where it came from and some of the things that happened to those people
in their lives as they tried to get that music to you.

A long-time Fringe
favourite, Brown has chosen Edinburgh for the world premiere of Chuck Berry
Lives! It promises an amazing mix of classics like Sweet Little Sixteen,
Memphis, Johnny B Goode with dance routines of the kind that have won him a
faithful following worldwide. It also coincides with the launch of his latest
CD C'est La Vie, which includes Chuck Berry hits like Reelin’ and
Rockin’ and Never Can Tell as well as his own new songs including I
Want to be Your Lover.

Brown is a wizard
of song and tap who has been seen widely on BBC TV, was the featured artist at
Oprah Winfrey’s birthday party for Maya Angelou and has earned critical acclaim
from reviewers.

Brown first
stole hearts with his dancing aged five. He had a doo-wop group as a teenager
and has appeared with the likes of James Brown, BB King, The Isley Brothers and
Little Stevie Wonder. Accolades include Best Blues Artist (LA American
Radios Award), Best International Act and nominee Star of the Festival
(Brighton Festival), People’s Choice Award
Winner (Vancouver), Most Outstanding Performer (New York Festival, Orlando,
Ottawa).

While in Edinburgh Brown
will be running Tap Into Health workshops, his programme to promote health,
fitness and wellbeing through dance.

Absurd opinions, extended reviews, random press releases from The Arts, half baked ideas, unsuccessful experiments with the format of criticism. Brought to you by the host of The Vile Arts Radio Hour and former Theatre Editor of The Skinny, now working with The List